Michelle Williams Says She Has Kept in Touch with Former Dawson’s Creek Costar James Van Der Beek amid His Cancer Diagnosis

Michelle Williams is “absolutely” in touch with her former costar James Van Der Beek following his colorectal cancer diagnosis.

Williams, who starred on Dawson’s Creek with Van Der Beek from 1998 to 2003, was recently asked about the actor, who revealed his diagnosis to PEOPLE in November, and she confirmed that she’s been supporting him however she can.

“We’re in contact, and he’s in our hearts and our minds, and he knows that,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “And we’re here for him in every and all ways.”

Williams, who played Jen Lindley for five seasons of the WB series, previously said that Dawson’s Creek was “a little bit like a factory job” and very “formulaic.”

She told Patricia Clarkson during Variety‘s Actors on Actors in 2019 that she wasn’t “yearning to repeat” her experience because she “didn’t want to be told what to do.” She added, “I don’t think I’ve done television between then and now because of a fear of loss of input.”

As for Van Der Beek’s experience on the show, he told Jana Kramer last month that he’s recently reconnected with many of his former costars, which has been “so great.”

“We all went our separate ways and, you know, just didn’t speak for years because we’re just living our lives and doing our thing,” he said on her Whine Down podcast.

Now, though, he’s been able to “reconnect” with many of them — the cast also included Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson — and said of his former costars, “‘Oh, wow. I love who you’ve become.'”

Since beginning his cancer journey last August, Van Der Beek told PEOPLE he’s been overwhelmed by the support he’s received from friends and family.

“It was amazing,” he said. “I’m never the person who asked for any help — ever. It’s not in my DNA. And I thought that was a fine way to be until cancer. The way friends showed up was such a beautiful experience — and I would never have otherwise seen how much people care about me.”

The response meant even more considering how opposed he’d been to sharing the news. “I’m an empath. I like to take care of everybody. I’m a provider, and especially at that point, I was trying to be Superman and be all things to all people and be a dad and a provider,” he said. “And so to have to tell people and my father and my siblings and my kids, it was really tricky.”

Dawson’s Creek can be streamed in full on Hulu.